As the market for structured cabling and connectivity matures different connectivity products become more commoditized and therefore more sensitive to cost. With regard to communication jacks, one relatively low cost solution is a lead frame style jack having eight metal contacts within the jack corresponding to the 1-8 individual conductors making up four differential pairs. These eight metal contacts form plug interface contacts (PICs), insulation displacement contact terminals (typically insulation displacement contacts (IDCs)), and a connection section extending between the PICs and the IDCs. Such construction is often accomplished by using continuous metal leads extending from the PICs to the IDCs. Furthermore, in certain applications these same contacts can be used to compensate for unwanted crosstalk. Suitable crosstalk compensation interactions can be created between lead pairs by forming a section of one lead of a lead pair in near proximity to a section of another appropriate lead of another lead pair. Such design can eliminate the need for a circuit board within the jack with equivalent compensation elements. By obviating the need for a circuit board, jack manufacturing time and material costs may be reduced.
However, notwithstanding the omission of a circuit board, other factors can influence the cost and complexity of a network jack. These can include the total number of sections where contacts must cross over one another, the materials used to coat the metal contacts, and the number of contact stamping reels needed for manufacture. Furthermore, these factors can become more significant in their importance as the jacks are manufactured to higher performance standards such as Category 6 (CAT 6) (250 MHz), Augmented Category 6 (CAT 6a) (500 MHz), and higher. Therefore, there is a need for a lead frame communication jack capable of high frequency electrical performance, such as for example CAT6 performance, while maintaining the inherent cost benefits of a lead frame jack design.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate one preferred embodiment of the invention, in one form, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.